Video: Israel Adesanya Says 'I'll Be Back' After Stunning UFC Knockout Loss to Imavov

Israel Adesanya doesn't appear to be considering retirement despite suffering a swift defeat at the hands of Nassourdine Imavov during the UFC Fight Night 250 main event in Saudi Arabia.

Adesanya posted a video of himself reacting to the fight on social media afterwards, writing "I'll be back" in the caption.

The former UFC middleweight champion suffered a knockout loss in the second round to Imavov on Saturday, causing his overall record to fall to 24-5.

While Adensanya lost three of his past four fights heading into Saturday's bout, it was still a surprising result. He appeared to be off to a strong start against Imavov, winning the first round on all three scorecards from the judges.

In the second round, Adesanya was sent to the floor with a right hand to the chin by Imavov and was finished off with a left hand before covering up and subsequently ending the fight.

The 35-year-old was noncommittal regarding his future immediately following the defeat.

"I don't know, I have to chill then think about things," Adesanya said, via Yahoo Sports' Drake Riggs. "I'll relax first for a little bit, just to help the teammates who have fights coming up, and yeah, see what I want to do. I was going to do that anyway, but now I'm forced to. Shout out to Nassourdine for that."

Although Adesanya lost in his first nonchampionship appearance since 2019, UFC CEO Dana White was still impressed with the performance.

"I thought Izzy looked incredible until he got caught," White said, via ESPN's Brett Okamoto. "He was picking him apart, staying on the outside, takedown defense was incredible, chopping that calf kick. That whole round, he couldn't have had a better first round, but then he got caught."

Adesanya suffered a swift defeat on Saturday, but he already appears to be preparing for a return to the Octagon.